On the innovation capacity of technologyrelated knowledge-intensive business services. A case study of the technology and engineering consulting (TEC) sector in Singapore

Even though the research on innovation in services has expanded remarkably especially during the past two decades, there is still a need to increase understanding on the special characteristics of service innovation. In addition to studying innovation in service companies and industries, research has also recently focused more on services in innovation, as especially the significance of so-called knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) for the competitive edge of their clients, othercompanies, regions and even nations has been proved in several previous studies. This study focuses on studying technology-based KIBS firms, and technology andengineering consulting (TEC) sector in particular. These firms have multiple roles in innovation systems, and thus, there is also a need for in-depth studies that increase knowledge about the types and dimensions of service innovations as well as underlying mechanisms and procedures which make the innovations successful. The main aim of this study is to generate new knowledge in the fragmented research field of service innovation management by recognizing the different typesof innovations in TEC services and some of the enablers of and barriers to innovation capacity in the field, especially from the knowledge management perspective. The study also aims to shed light on some of the existing routines and new constructions needed for enhancing service innovation and knowledge processing activities in KIBS companies of the TEC sector. The main samples of data in this research include literature reviews and public data sources, and a qualitative research approach with exploratory case studies conducted with the help of the interviews at technology consulting companies in Singapore in 2006. These complement the qualitative interview data gathered previously in Finland during a larger research project in the years 2004-2005. The data is also supplemented by a survey conducted in Singapore. The respondents for the survey by Tan (2007) were technology consulting companies who operate in the Singapore region. The purpose ofthe quantitative part of the study was to validate and further examine specificaspects such as the influence of knowledge management activities on innovativeness and different types of service innovations, in which the technology consultancies are involved. Singapore is known as a South-east Asian knowledge hub and is thus a significant research area where several multinational knowledge-intensive service firms operate. Typically, the service innovations identified in the studied TEC firms were formed by several dimensions of innovations. In addition to technological aspects, innovations were, for instance, related to new client interfaces and service delivery processes. The main enablers of and barriers to innovation seem to be partly similar in Singaporean firms as compared to the earlier study of Finnish TEC firms. Empirical studies also brought forth the significance of various sources of knowledge and knowledge processing activities as themain driving forces of service innovation in technology-related KIBS firms. A framework was also developed to study the effect of knowledge processing capabilities as well as some moderators on the innovativeness of TEC firms. Especially efficient knowledge acquisition and environmental dynamism seem to influence the innovativeness of TEC firms positively. The results of the study also contributeto the present service innovation literature by focusing more on 'innovation within KIBs' rather than 'innovation through KIBS', which has been the typical viewpoint stressed in the previous literature. Additionally, the study provides several possibilities for further research.

Testing website usability in Spanish-Speaking Academia through heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthroughs

Although usability evaluations have been focused on assessing different contexts of use, no proper specifications have been addressed towards the particular environment of academic websites in the Spanish-speaking context of use. Considering that this context involves hundreds of millions of potential users, the AIPO Association is running the UsabAIPO Project. The ultimate goal is to promote an adequate translation of international standards, methods and ideal values related to usability in order to adapt them to diverse Spanish-related contexts of use. This article presents the main statistical results coming from the Second and Third Stages of the UsabAIPO Project, where the UsabAIPO Heuristic method (based on Heuristic Evaluation techniques) and seven Cognitive Walkthroughs were performed over 69 university websites. The planning and execution of the UsabAIPO Heuristic method and the Cognitive Walkthroughs, the definition of two usability metrics, as well as the outline of the UsabAIPO Heuristic Management System prototype are also sketched.

Stability of cognitive performance in children with mild intellectual disability.

AIM: Longitudinal studies that have examined cognitive performance in children with intellectual disability more than twice over the course of their development are scarce. We assessed population and individual stability of cognitive performance in a clinical sample of children with borderline to mild non-syndromic intellectual disability. METHOD: Thirty-six children (28 males, eight females; age range 3-19y) with borderline to mild intellectual disability (Full-scale IQ [FSIQ] 50-85) of unknown origin were examined in a retrospective clinical case series using linear mixed models including at least three assessments with standardized intelligence tests. RESULTS: Average cognitive performance remained remarkably stable over time (high population stability, drop of only 0.38 IQ points per year, standard error=0.39, p=0.325) whereas individual stability was at best moderate (intraclass correlation of 0.58), indicating that about 60% of the residual variation in FSIQ scores can be attributed to between-child variability. Neither sex nor socio-economic status had a statistically significant impact on FSIQ. INTERPRETATION: Although intellectual disability during childhood is a relatively stable phenomenon, individual stability of IQ is only moderate, likely to be caused by test-to-test reliability (e.g. level of child's cooperation, motivation, and attention). Therefore, clinical decisions and predictions should not rely on single IQ assessments, but should also consider adaptive functioning and previous developmental history.

Cognitive Predictors and Risk Factors of PTSD Following Stillbirth: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study.

This short-term longitudinal study investigated cognitive predictors and risk factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers following stillbirth. After a stillbirth at ≥ 24 weeks gestational age, 65 women completed structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, cognitive predictors (appraisals, dysfunctional strategies), and risk factors (perceived social support, trauma history, obstetric history) at 3 and 6 months. PTSD symptoms decreased between 3 and 6 months (Cohen's d ranged .34-.52). Regression analyses also revealed a specific positive relationship between Rumination and concurrent frequency of PTSD symptoms (β = .45). Negative Self-View and Negative World-View related positively and Self-Blame related negatively to concurrent number of PTSD symptoms (β = .48, .44, -.45, respectively). Suppression and Distraction predicted a decrease and Numbing predicted an increase in time-lagged number of PTSD symptoms (β = -.33, -.28, .30, respectively). Risk factors for PTSD symptoms were younger age (β = -.25), lower income (β = -.29), fewer previous pregnancies (β = -.31), and poorer perceived social support (β = -.26). Interventions addressing negative appraisals, dysfunctional strategies, and social support are recommended for mothers with PTSD following stillbirth. Knowledge of cognitive predictors and risk factors of PTSD may inform the development of a screening instrument.

Determination of the complexing capacity of synthetic and real wine for Zn using Absence of Gradients and Nerstian Equilibrium Stripping technique

The complexing capacity of synthetic (0.011 M tartrate in 13.5% ethanol) and real wine (Raimat Abadia) in titrations with added total Zn concentrations up to 0.03 M has been determined following the free Zn concentrations with AGNES (absence of gradients and Nernstian equilibrium stripping) technique. A correction to find the preconcentration factor or gain (Y1) really applied at each one of the ionic strengths reached due to Zn additions along the titration has been applied. The standard implementation of AGNES to real wine led to the observation of two anomalous behaviors: (a) an increasingly negative current in the deposition stage (labeled as “HER” effect) and (b) a minimum in the currents of the stripping stage plot (labeled as the “dip” effect). A practical strategy to apply AGNES avoiding the dip effect has been developed to quantify properly free Zn concentrations. The van den Berg–Ružic–Lee linearization method (assuming the existence of just 1:1 complexes) has been adapted to consider the dilution effect and the ionic strength changes. Aggregated stability constants and total ligand concentrations have been calculated from synthetic and wine titration data. The found complexing capacity in the studied wine (cT,L = 0.0179 ± 0.0007 M) indicates the contribution of ligands other than tartrate (which is confirmed to be the main one).

Copy number variations and cognitive phenotypes in unselected populations

IMPORTANCE: The association of copy number variations (CNVs), differing numbers of copies of genetic sequence at locations in the genome, with phenotypes such as intellectual disability has been almost exclusively evaluated using clinically ascertained cohorts. The contribution of these genetic variants to cognitive phenotypes in the general population remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features conferred by CNVs associated with known syndromes in adult carriers without clinical preselection and to assess the genome-wide consequences of rare CNVs (frequency ≤0.05%; size ≥250 kilobase pairs [kb]) on carriers' educational attainment and intellectual disability prevalence in the general population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The population biobank of Estonia contains 52,000 participants enrolled from 2002 through 2010. General practitioners examined participants and filled out a questionnaire of health- and lifestyle-related questions, as well as reported diagnoses. Copy number variant analysis was conducted on a random sample of 7877 individuals and genotype-phenotype associations with education and disease traits were evaluated. Our results were replicated on a high-functioning group of 993 Estonians and 3 geographically distinct populations in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Italy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Phenotypes of genomic disorders in the general population, prevalence of autosomal CNVs, and association of these variants with educational attainment (from less than primary school through scientific degree) and prevalence of intellectual disability. RESULTS: Of the 7877 in the Estonian cohort, we identified 56 carriers of CNVs associated with known syndromes. Their phenotypes, including cognitive and psychiatric problems, epilepsy, neuropathies, obesity, and congenital malformations are similar to those described for carriers of identical rearrangements ascertained in clinical cohorts. A genome-wide evaluation of rare autosomal CNVs (frequency, ≤0.05%; ≥250 kb) identified 831 carriers (10.5%) of the screened general population. Eleven of 216 (5.1%) carriers of a deletion of at least 250 kb (odds ratio [OR], 3.16; 95% CI, 1.51-5.98; P = 1.5e-03) and 6 of 102 (5.9%) carriers of a duplication of at least 1 Mb (OR, 3.67; 95% CI, 1.29-8.54; P = .008) had an intellectual disability compared with 114 of 6819 (1.7%) in the Estonian cohort. The mean education attainment was 3.81 (P = 1.06e-04) among 248 (≥250 kb) deletion carriers and 3.69 (P = 5.024e-05) among 115 duplication carriers (≥1 Mb). Of the deletion carriers, 33.5% did not graduate from high school (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.12-1.95; P = .005) and 39.1% of duplication carriers did not graduate high school (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.27-2.8; P = 1.6e-03). Evidence for an association between rare CNVs and lower educational attainment was supported by analyses of cohorts of adults from Italy and the United States and adolescents from the United Kingdom. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Known pathogenic CNVs in unselected, but assumed to be healthy, adult populations may be associated with unrecognized clinical sequelae. Additionally, individually rare but collectively common intermediate-size CNVs may be negatively associated with educational attainment. Replication of these findings in additional population groups is warranted given the potential implications of this observation for genomics research, clinical care, and public health.

Generation and interconnection capacity expansion in cross-border electricity markets : the need for policy coordination

Electricity is a strategic service in modern societies. Thus, it is extremely important for governments to be able to guarantee an affordable and reliable supply, which depends to a great extent on an adequate expansion of the generation and transmission capacities. Cross- border integration of electricity markets creates new challenges for the regulators, since the evolution of the market is now influenced by the characteristics and policies of neighbouring countries. There is still no agreement on why and how regions should integrate their electricity markets. The aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of integrated electricity markets and how their behaviour depends on the prevailing characteristics of the national markets and the policies implemented in each country. We developed a simulation model to analyse under what circumstances integration is desirable. This model is used to study three cases of interconnection between two countries. Several policies regarding interconnection expansion and operation, combined with different generation capacity adequacy mechanisms, are evaluated. The thesis is composed of three papers. The first paper presents a detailed description of the model and an analysis of the case of Colombia and Ecuador. It shows that market coupling can bring important benefits, but the relative size of the countries can lead to import dependency issues in the smaller country. The second paper compares the case of Colombia and Ecuador with the case of Great Britain and France. These countries are significantly different in terms of electricity sources, hydro- storage capacity, complementarity and demand growth. We show that complementarity is essential in order to obtain benefits from integration, while higher demand growth and hydro- storage capacity can lead to counterintuitive outcomes, thus complicating policy design. In the third paper, an extended version of the model presented in the first paper is used to analyse the case of Finland and its interconnection with Russia. Different trading arrangements are considered. We conclude that unless interconnection capacity is expanded, the current trading arrangement, where a single trader owns the transmission rights and limits the flow during peak hours, is beneficial for Finland. In case of interconnection expansion, market coupling would be preferable. We also show that the costs of maintaining a strategic reserve in Finland are justified in order to limit import dependency, while still reaping the benefits of interconnection. In general, we conclude that electricity market integration can bring benefits if the right policies are implemented. However, a large interconnection capacity is only desirable if the countries exhibit significant complementarity and trust each other. The outcomes of policies aimed at guaranteeing security of supply at a national level can be quite counterintuitive due to the interactions between neighbouring countries and their effects on interconnection and generation investments. Thus, it is important for regulators to understand these interactions and coordinate their decisions in order to take advantage of the interconnection without putting security of supply at risk. But it must be taken into account that even when integration brings benefits to the region, some market participants lose and might try to hinder the integration process. -- Dans les sociétés modernes, l'électricité est un service stratégique. Il est donc extrêmement important pour les gouvernements de pouvoir garantir la sécurité d'approvisionnement à des prix abordables. Ceci dépend en grande mesure d'une expansion adéquate des capacités de génération et de transmission. L'intégration des marchés électriques pose des nouveaux défis pour les régulateurs, puisque l'évolution du marché est maintenant influencée par les caractéristiques et les politiques des pays voisins. Il n'est pas encore claire pourquoi ni comment les marches électriques devraient s'intégrer. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'améliorer la compréhension des marchés intégrés d'électricité et de leur comportement en fonction des caractéristiques et politiques de chaque pays. Un modèle de simulation est proposé pour étudier les conditions dans lesquelles l'intégration est désirable. Ce modèle est utilisé pour étudier trois cas d'interconnexion entre deux pays. Plusieurs politiques concernant l'expansion et l'opération de l'interconnexion, combinées avec différents mécanismes de rémunération de la capacité, sont évalués. Cette thèse est compose de trois articles. Le premier présente une description détaillée du modèle et une analyse du cas de la Colombie et de l'Equateur. Il montre que le couplage de marchés peut amener des bénéfices importants ; cependant, la différence de taille entre pays peut créer des soucis de dépendance aux importations pour le pays le plus petit. Le second papier compare le cas de la Colombie et l'Equateur avec le cas de la Grande Bretagne et de la France. Ces pays sont très différents en termes de ressources, taille des réservoirs d'accumulation pour l'hydro, complémentarité et croissance de la demande. Nos résultats montrent que la complémentarité joue un rôle essentiel dans l'obtention des bénéfices potentiels de l'intégration, alors qu'un taux élevé de croissance de la demande, ainsi qu'une grande capacité de stockage, mènent à des résultats contre-intuitifs, ce qui complique les décisions des régulateurs. Dans le troisième article, une extension du modèle présenté dans le premier article est utilisée pour analyser le cas de la Finlande et de la Russie. Différentes règles pour les échanges internationaux d'électricité sont considérées. Nos résultats indiquent qu'à un faible niveau d'interconnexion, la situation actuelle, où un marchand unique possède les droits de transmission et limite le flux pendant les heures de pointe, est bénéfique pour la Finlande. Cependant, en cas d'expansion de la capacité d'interconnexion, «market coupling» est préférable. préférable. Dans tous les cas, la Finlande a intérêt à garder une réserve stratégique, car même si cette politique entraine des coûts, elle lui permet de profiter des avantages de l'intégration tout en limitant ca dépendance envers les importations. En général, nous concluons que si les politiques adéquates sont implémentées, l'intégration des marchés électriques peut amener des bénéfices. Cependant, une grande capacité d'interconnexion n'est désirable que si les pays ont une complémentarité importante et il existe une confiance mutuelle. Les résultats des politiques qui cherchent à préserver la sécurité d'approvisionnement au niveau national peuvent être très contre-intuitifs, étant données les interactions entre les pays voisins et leurs effets sur les investissements en génération et en interconnexion. Il est donc très important pour les régulateurs de comprendre ces interactions et de coordonner décisions à fin de pouvoir profiter de l'interconnexion sans mettre en danger la sécurité d'approvisionnement. Mais il faut être conscients que même quand l'intégration amène de bénéfices pour la région, certains participants au marché sont perdants et pourraient essayer de bloquer le processus d'intégration.

Dehulling capacity and storability of naked oat

Selostus: Paljasjyväisen kauran kuoriutuvuus ja säilyvyys

APOE status modulates the changes in network connectivity induced by brain stimulation in non-demented elders.

Behavioral consequences of a brain insult represent an interaction between the injury and the capacity of the rest of the brain to adapt to it. We provide experimental support for the notion that genetic factors play a critical role in such adaptation. We induced a controlled brain disruption using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and show that APOE status determines its impact on distributed brain networks as assessed by functional MRI (fMRI).Twenty non-demented elders exhibiting mild memory dysfunction underwent two fMRI studies during face-name encoding tasks (before and after rTMS). Baseline task performance was associated with activation of a network of brain regions in prefrontal, parietal, medial temporal and visual associative areas. APOE ε4 bearers exhibited this pattern in two separate independent components, whereas ε4-non carriers presented a single partially overlapping network. Following rTMS all subjects showed slight ameliorations in memory performance, regardless of APOE status. However, after rTMS APOE ε4-carriers showed significant changes in brain network activation, expressing strikingly similar spatial configuration as the one observed in the non-carrier group prior to stimulation. Similarly, activity in areas of the default-mode network (DMN) was found in a single component among the ε4-non bearers, whereas among carriers it appeared disaggregated in three distinct spatiotemporal components that changed to an integrated single component after rTMS. Our findings demonstrate that genetic background play a fundamental role in the brain responses to focal insults, conditioning expression of distinct brain networks to sustain similar cognitive performance.

Commentary on "The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration" by Luiz Pessoa - "On theory integration: Toward developing affective components within cognitive architectures"

In The Cognitive-Emotional Brain, Pessoa (2013) suggests that cognition and emotion should not be considered separately. We agree with this and argue that cognitive architectures can provide steady ground for this kind of theory integration and for investigating interactions among underlying cognitive processes. We briefly explore how affective components can be implemented and how neuroimaging measures can help validate models and influence theory development.

Polyphenol-rich foods in the Mediterranean diet are associated with better cognitive function in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk

Brain oxidative processes play a major role in age-related cognitive decline, thus consumption of antioxidant-rich foods might help preserve cognition. Our aim was to assess whether consumption of antioxidant-rich foods in the Mediterranean diet relates to cognitive function in the elderly. In asymptomatic subjects at high cardiovascular risk (n = 447; 52% women; age 55-80 y) enrolled in the PREDIMED study, a primary prevention dietary-intervention trial, we assessed food intake and cardiovascular risk profile, determined apolipoprotein E genotype, and used neuropsychological tests to evaluate cognitive function.We also measured urinary polyphenols as an objective biomarker of intake. Associations between energy-adjusted food consumption, urinary polyphenols, and cognitive scores were assessed by multiple linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Consumption of some foods was independently related to better cognitive function. The specific associations [regression coefficients (95% confidence intervals)] were: total olive oil with immediate verbal memory [0.755 (0.151-1.358)]; virgin olive oil and coffee with delayed verbal memory [0.163 (0.010-0.316) and 0.294 (0.055-0.534), respectively];walnuts with working memory [1.191 (0.061-2.322)]; and wine with Mini-Mental State Examination scores [0.252 (0.006-0.496)]. Urinary polyphenols were associated with better scores in immediate verbal memory [1.208 (0.236-2.180)]. Increased consumption of antioxidant-rich foods in general and of polyphenols in particular is associated with better cognitive performance in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk. The results reinforce the notion that Mediterranean diet components might counteract age-related cognitive decline.

Characterization of the antioxidant capacity of natives fruits from the Brazilian Amazon Region

The objective of the present study was to characterize the chemistry and the antioxidant capacity in 8 species of native fruits from Amazonia. All the fruits were collected at full physiological and commercial maturity from properties located at: Boa Vista / RR, São Luiz do Anauá / RR, Manaus / AM, and Belém / PA. At the end of the experiment, the functional pattern for the camu-camu fruits showed that the total phenolic and ascorbic acid content and antioxidant assays were superior compared to the other samples. Despite the functional losses detected for the freeze-dried samples of the camu-camu fruit, all the other freeze-dried samples kept under -20ºC showed appropriate stability for long-term storage. In addition, it was also observed that fruit peel showed higher antioxidant activity than pulp or samples containing peel and pulp tissues in the same extract. When the ratio between the ORAC and total phenolic assays were observed, the uxi fruit demonstrated the highest antioxidant power compared to the other fruits studied, despite its relatively low levels of phenolic compound content and ORAC values. This means that there is a relevant contribution of these phenolic compounds to the antioxidant activity of uxi fruit.

A model for the evolution of reinforcement learning in fluctuating games

Many species are able to learn to associate behaviours with rewards as this gives fitness advantages in changing environments. Social interactions between population members may, however, require more cognitive abilities than simple trial-and-error learning, in particular the capacity to make accurate hypotheses about the material payoff consequences of alternative action combinations. It is unclear in this context whether natural selection necessarily favours individuals to use information about payoffs associated with nontried actions (hypothetical payoffs), as opposed to simple reinforcement of realized payoff. Here, we develop an evolutionary model in which individuals are genetically determined to use either trial-and-error learning or learning based on hypothetical reinforcements, and ask what is the evolutionarily stable learning rule under pairwise symmetric two-action stochastic repeated games played over the individual's lifetime. We analyse through stochastic approximation theory and simulations the learning dynamics on the behavioural timescale, and derive conditions where trial-and-error learning outcompetes hypothetical reinforcement learning on the evolutionary timescale. This occurs in particular under repeated cooperative interactions with the same partner. By contrast, we find that hypothetical reinforcement learners tend to be favoured under random interactions, but stable polymorphisms can also obtain where trial-and-error learners are maintained at a low frequency. We conclude that specific game structures can select for trial-and-error learning even in the absence of costs of cognition, which illustrates that cost-free increased cognition can be counterselected under social interactions.